The Tesco vs Guardian dispute, over an article in the Guardian about Tesco's alleged tax avoidance plans, has intensified.Tesco has demanded that the Guardian issue a front page apology.
As I have already noted, the story in the first place (although it transpires it was factually incorrect) was theoretically a non story.
Tax avoidance is legal.
However, in Brown's Britain (which is broke) the government, left of centre media organs, yesterday's politicians and HMRC are keen to tar tax avoidance with the same brush as tax evasion (which is illegal).
Tesco are to be congratulated for their stand against the ongoing negative publicity spewed forth by HMRC, the government and its lackeys.
The government and HMRC, if they succeed in shutting down complex and expensive avoidance schemes will move on to the more simple every day ones such as ISAs and even personal allowances.
They are broke and they are desperate.
Tax does have to be taxing.
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Removing breaks on ISAs etc may well happen, like the pensions raid and the GB hokey cokey on small company CT - £10k free+taper releif, then 5 years later it's not just back up, but 3% higher than before.
ReplyDelete"Tax free" national savings is already a con as some of the tax has effectively been clawed back via a less than great interest rate.
Nobody mentions either the impact of tax on inflation, particularly the tax on fuel which must surely be a significant factor in inflation of manufactured and transported goods at the moment.